After cyberbullying accusations involving his fiancée got him shipped out of Ottawa to the San Jose Sharks and finally to the Florida Panthers, there were questions how Mike Hoffman would fit in with his new team.
The Panthers are struggling this season, sitting last in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with just 19 points. However, Hoffman’s play has exceeded expectations.
Hoffman started the 2018-19 season with zero points in his first two games before beginning his active 17-game point streak (10 goals, 10 assists) dating back to Oct. 13 versus the Vancouver Canucks. He has been in on nearly 36 per cent of the Panthers’ offence the last 17 games with 20 points on 56 goals.
In breaking down his offence further, he has 11 even-strength points and nine on the power play. His shooting percentage is currently at career high of 14.3 per cent. His next best marks are 13.6 per cent (2014-15) and 11.6 per cent (2016-17).
Hoffman is just the fifth player in NHL history to record a point streak of at least 17 games with a new team. Hoffman is the first player with a point streak of at least 15 games in his first season with a team since Dany Heatley had a 22-game run with the Ottawa Senators in 2005-06. Ahead of him on the list are Pierre Turgeon and Clint Smith (18), Heatley (22) and Wayne Gretzky (23).
He also has the longest point streak of the 2018-19 season. Carolina’s Sebastian Aho and Hoffman’s Panthers teammate Evgenii Dadonov are tied for second at 12, while Winnipeg’s Blake Wheeler and Montreal’s Max Domi, who has an active point streak, sit third with 11 games.
Hoffman has also claimed the Panthers’ point streak record, beating out Pavel Bure’s previous record of 13 games, set in 1999-2000.
Hoffman has a chance to extend his streak to 18 games on Nov. 23 against the Hurricanes. The Panthers have yet to face the Hurricanes this season.